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Using the old listing tool, it seemed like UPS ground was cheaper than USPS priority mail for nearly everything, especially at long distance (I live on the West Coast, so this matters a lot.)
Since we switched to the new listing tool, this seems to have flipped. When I make my calculated shipping choices (to “make preferred” a shipping option) UPS is a little higher at close range, and astronomical on the high end of the estimates they show.
Note: I share my ebay discount with my customers, and most of my items are in the 2-15 lb, under 12×1212″ range.
Am I missing something? My sales have gone deathly slow after a couple best-ever weeks.
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Whenever I want to compare shipping options, I use the eBay shipping calculator:
https://www.ebay.com/shp/Calculator
UPS was the low cost leader earlier this year, and then FedEx seemed to adjust its rates to be in line. USPS also adjusted its Parcel costs to be more competitive. In general, I find Priority to be pretty competitive up to about 3-4 pounds, and then competitive for zones closer to me in the 5-6 pound range with UPS/FedEx better for longer distances.
What I do is offer Priority as the first option with FedEx as a second choice up to about that 6 pound limit. I just prefer that an item be more interesting to a closer address than far away. After that, I have FedEx as the first choice. I chose FedEx mostly because Walgreen is open to 9PM while the UPS store closes at 6:30PM.
One thing to check, though. If you are passing the discount to your customer, make sure that you have that checked for both Priority and UPS.
Finally, my sales have also slowed down from the last couple of weeks in November. eBay can be very up and down. You need to look at the big picture and not worry about a downturn for a week or two. It happens, and it happens often.
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Thanks Sharyn,
I did not know the calculator was available separately, it used to be right there in the listing tool and I used it religiously.
Also, thank you for sharing your “tipping points,” they seem to be in line with what I’m seeing. Always happy to ship in a free USPS box!
I definitely agree about the ups and downs. I was just concerned to see a downturn right after the new listing tool switch, AND during the holidays (which should generally trend upward.)
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Update: I ran a quick test, and the new listing tool *does* show different shipping prices than you would find with the old-fashioned calculator. Very frustrating when it comes time to choose the order of options for your listing.
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This happened several years ago when they updated the shipping page. They reversed the zones in the update. Contact ebay for business to show them the issue.
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Just spoke with ebay, my understanding now is:
–The new listing tool shows you the retail prices of various shipping services.
–If you share your discount with customers, they will see that discounted price when viewing the listing.
–Assuming I want to show the rock-bottom price to the shopper viewing the listing, (and I do,) I’ll have to view the listing myself, click on “see details” after the shipping price, and double-check that I’ve ordered the shipping services correctly. OR open up a tab and run everything through the old Shipping Calculator. Either way, more steps.
–This is very frustrating; if you put the services in the wrong order (based on what you see in the new listing tool, which conflicts with the old shipping calculator,) shoppers will see a higher-than-necessary shipping price and move on. Grr.
–The bright side? Now I know!
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